Highlanders, Coyotes split

The McLennan Highlanders and Weatherford Coyotes split Wednesday's conference doubleheader in Weatherford.

McLennan took game one 13-8 with Sterling Wynn getting the win on the the mound.

Weatherford began the scoring with three runs in the bottom of the first. Zac Michener and Taylor Sugar both singled. Quintin Rohrbaugh followed with a fielder's choice, putting Sugar out at second. Trooper Reynolds singled to score Michener. Scotland Church then doubled to score Rohrbaugh and Reynolds.

The Highlanders tied the game with three runs in the second. Zach Gonzalez singled. Sydney Daley and Miles Manning were both hit by the pitch, loading the bases. Mason George was safe on an error, bringing Gonzalez in to score. Evan Williams then singled to score Daley and Manning.

McLennan took the lead with a run in the third as Max Hogan walked, stole second and third, and scored on a single by Gonzalez.

The Highlanders added three runs in the fourth. Williams and Matt Campbell both singled. Hogan was safe on an error, bringing Williams home to score. Andrew Rhodes then doubled to score Campbell and Hogan.

The Coyotes cut the lead to one with three runs in the bottom of the fourth. Michener was safe on an error. Sugar and Rohrbaugh both walked, loading the bases. Reynolds also walked, bringing Michener in to score. Sugar scored on a wild pitch. Colten Turner also walked. Valente Canada was then hit by the pitch, bringing Rohrbaugh in to score.

McLennan pulled away with four runs in the fifth. Daley led off with a solo home run. George was hit by the pitch and Williams singled. Both runners advanced on a balk. Campbell walked to load the bases. Hogan followed with a double, scoring George, Williams and Campbell.

The Highlanders added two runs in the sixth. Trevor Posednik led off with a single and advanced to second on a errant pick off attempt. Gonzalez followed with a fielder's choice, putting Podsednik out at third. Daley was then hit by the pitch. Dalton Rodriguez singled to score, Gonzalez, and Daley scored on a single by Williams.

Weatherford rounded out the scoring with two runs in the bottom of the seventh inning. Canada drew a lead off walk and scored on a home run by Daniel Williams.

The Coyotes bounced back to defeat McLennan 9-4 in the nightcap with Nathan Bertness taking the loss.

The Highlanders got on the board with a run in the top of the first as Williams doubled, moved to second on a fly out by Campbell and scored on a groundout by Hogan.

Weatherford took the lead with two runs in the bottom of the second inning. Reynolds and Church drew back-to-back walks, both advancing on a sacrifice hit by Shane Crawford. Turner followed with a fielder's choice, putting Reynolds out at the plate. Bobbie Kramer then singled to score Church, and Williams singled to score Turner.

McLennan took the lead with two runs in the top of the fourth inning. Hogan doubled and Rhodes singled. Zac Valenzuela followed with a single to score Hogan, and Rhodes scored on an error.

The Highlanders added one run in the fifth as Campbell singled, stole second and came around to score on two Weatherford errors.

The Coyotes sealed the win with five runs in the bottom of the fifth. Williams led off with a double and scored on a single by Michener. Sugar followed with a single, Michener was out at third on fielder's choice by Rohrbaugh. Reynolds then singled to score Sugar. Church was safe at first and advanced to second on a Highlander error, bringing Rohrbaugh in to score. Crawford then doubled to score Reynolds and Church.

Weatherford rounded out the scoring with two runs in the eighth. Kramer was safe on an error and Williams doubled. Both runners scored on a single by Michener.

The two teams will complete the four-game series with a 1 p.m. doubleheader on Saturday at Bosque River Ballpark. McLennan must win one of the two games to advance to the regional tournament.

McLennan 13, Weatherford 8
McLennan 031 342 0 – 13 13 2
Weatherford 300 300 2 – 8 10 3
Sterling Wynn, Enrique Oquendo (4), Patrick Herbelin (7) and Mason George, Dalton Rodriguez (5). Tejay Antone, Cameron Vige (5), Trevor Hardee (6), Reid Meyer (7) and Valente Canada. WP: Wynn; LP: Antone. Leading hitters – McLennan: Evan Williams (4-5, 3 RBI), Max Hogan (1-3, 2B, RBI), Andrew Rhodes (1-4, 2B, 2 RBI), Zach Gonzalez (2-5, RBI), Sydney Daley (1-3, HR, RBI) and Dalton Rodriguez (1-1, RBI); Weatherford: Daniel Williams (1-4, HR, 2 RBI), Taylor Sugar (2-4), Trooper Reynolds (1-3, RBI), Scotland Church (2-4, 2B, 2 RBI) and Valente Canada (1-1, RBI). Record: McLennan 28-23 (16-13).   

Weatherford 9,  McLennan 4
McLennan 100 210 000 – 4 9 3
Weatherford 020 050 02x – 9 12 4
Nathan Bertness, Conner Camacho (6), Miles Manning (8), Andrew Sanchez (8) and J.T. Stevenson, Dalton Rodriguez (7). Brandon Boone, Chaz Fowler (7) and Bobbie Kramer. WP: Boone; LP: Bertness. Leading hitters – McLennan: Evan Williams (2-5, 2B), Max Hogan (1-4, 2B, RBI), Zac Valenzuela (2-4, RBI), Zach Gonzalez (2-4, 2B); Weatherford: Zac Michener (3-4, 3 RBI), Trooper Reynolds (1-3, RBI), Shane Crawford (2-4, 2 2B, 2 RBI), Bobbie Kramer (1-4, RBI) and Daniel Williams (3-4, 2 2B, RBI). Record: McLennan 28-24 (16-14).